About Us
Hightown Praetorian and Churches is a regional housing association operating principally in Hertfordshire and east Buckinghamshire and providing a wide range of housing and support services for families and single people including people with special needs.
We are a charitable association aiming to help people who cannot afford to buy or rent housing at market values.
We currently manage approximately 2,500 homes (principally in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire) and employ over 420 staff. We have an annual turnover of £18 million and a development programme that will deliver more than 700 new affordable homes over the next three years.
History
As the name suggests, Hightown Praetorian and Churches housing association is the result of a number of mergers amongst housing associations operating in west Hertfordshire over the last 20 years. The principal mergers involved:
- Hightown Housing Association which was formed in 1968 and operated mainly in Hemel Hempstead area
- Praetorian Housing Association from St. Albans which was formed in 1974
- St. Albans and District Churches Housing Association which also operated in St. Albans and started in 1968
Hightown and Praetorian housing associations merged in 1995 and Hightown Praetorian and St. Albans and District Churches housing associations merged in 2003.
Partenership and Funding
The association has developed a range of successful partnerships with local authorities, health authorities, local contractors and consultants, the Housing Corporation and other agencies to provide a wide range of housing and support to meet local community needs.
The association receives revenue funding from Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire County Councils (including Supporting People funding) to provide care and support services in these counties.
To build new homes, HPCHA receives social housing grant from the Housing Corporation and local authorities and supplements it with long term loans from banks and building societies. The loans are repaid from rental income which also has to support management and maintenance expenditure and the cost of lost rent due to voids and bad debts. Many of the associations’ tenants are in receipt of housing benefit.
Governance
The association has 49 voluntary members who meet at the Annual General Meeting to elect the Board from the membership, approve the annual accounts and appoint the auditors.